Public Health and the Poverty of Reforms: The South Asian Predicament

This pioneering volume studies the impact of SAP in South Asia and the myriad factors responsible for the state of public health in the region. It presents theoretical critiques of reforms in the health sector combined with fresh macro and macro data which offer insights into public health issues. The volume brings together original essays by a diverse range of scholars, practitioners, and activists from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka besides bringing in experiences from Europe. The book is divided into six sections. The first provides a conceptual and historical background linking the ascendance of neo-liberal economic policies with the practice of public health. The second examines the evolution of specific policies within a global context and shows how they are largely divorced from the needs of the people. Section Three focuses on changes in the approach to both programs and financing. The contributors demonstrate that this has entailed a shift from a broad public orientation to one which is vertical and technologically centered. The next section discusses the experience with decentralization in the provision of services. In section Five, practitioners discuss the growing dilemmas that face them in their practice of public health. The final section presents case studies community based social development and employment programs. Overall, this book constitutes a comprehensive examination of public health practice in the framework of the ongoing economic reforms in South Asia. Apart from delineating various conceptual and methodological issues underlying the economic reforms, the contributors present various options to improve health services in the current scenario. With its many insights and its inter-disciplinary approach, this volume will interest all those involved in community health, social medicine, sociology, economics, public policy, and social welfare.